


Gerame: Neighbour AU

by onesunnyboi



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, alfred is a smooth mother fucker, alfred sneezes ludwig replies, ludwig wants to yeet himself into the sun, vague panicked hand gestures from Ludwig, why why why
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 20:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14504598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onesunnyboi/pseuds/onesunnyboi
Summary: “The walls between our apartments are so thin, when you sneezed I automatically yelled “Gesundheit!” and now I’m holding my breath and wait to see if you yell something back.” - Neighbours AU prompt from Tumblr.





	Gerame: Neighbour AU

**Author's Note:**

  * For [realmzenith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realmzenith/gifts).



> Hi! So, this was a birthday gift to a friend, Realm! He loves Gerame, as well as myself, and I wanted to write a little something towards the ship. I hope this suffices and if there is any helpful criticism I would be more than happy to hear from you!  
> Thank you!

What had been a stressful day at work lead into a much-needed peaceful evening at home, for Ludwig was fighting against a ruckus inside his head. The dull headache must be from the stress, he thought, as he wasn’t usually one for getting them out of the blue. Alas, it seemed that he couldn’t simply will it away, thus meaning he had to drink a glass of water, take a few pain killers, then make do with an earlier night.

He moved into his bedroom, having turn all the lights off in the living room and making sure the doors were securely locked. Ludwig heaved a disgruntled sigh. He hoped the pain killers would go into effect soon, for he wished to read his latest book challenge – it was quite a thick book, placed neatly on his bedside table beside the mediocre desk lamp. Within it, a simple bookmark to signal which page he had last read, himself being unable to dog-ear the pages.

The throbbing in his head was still present, much to his dismay, surely reading could wait until tomorrow; instead, he would try to sleep away the pain. That had to help, surely.  
With this in mind, Ludwig began to shift about his room, moving over to his folded pyjamas at the head of his bed. Once having taken them into his hands, he went through his usual nightly routine: pyjamas on, fold up his clothes, go brush his teeth and wash his face, get into bed and, finally, go to sleep.  
It hadn’t taken long before he was tumbling under the sheets. He laid flat on his back, rigid, with only one pillow underneath his head. He was just starting to close his eyes, in hopes of falling asleep without trouble, but his acute awareness and intent listening for unusual sounds made that somewhat difficult. What made the task of falling asleep even more difficult, however, was the loud eruption of sneezing that came from the far wall. Now, Ludwig knew the walls were thin, but that was a very loud sneeze indeed. It had to be Alfred, Ludwig mentally noted.

What mortified the poor man, however, was his instinctual response to the other.

Without hesitation, Ludwig easily offered a clear and loud, “Gesundheit!”

As the final syllable exited past his lips, Ludwig was sitting up in his bed, sheets pooling around his legs, whilst his eyes remained fixated on the far wall in horror. He watched it critically, his breath stalling in his throat as he waited for something (or at least the other) to respond. After a few more seconds ticked by, Ludwig’s guts tightening, the silence grew more stale with the awkwardness that was creeping up on him.

What came as a pleasant surprise was the bright response, with an amused tone interlaced with the words, “thanks, uh…” Yes… it was Alfred.  
What in the hell was Ludwig supposed to say back? He couldn’t just have a conversation with Alfred through the wall, that would be… embarrassing! He needed to sleep. Yet, he found himself awkwardly huffing towards the wall, voice clear enough for the other, “you’re welcome…”

It was then he heard a laugh, adorable at that, but surely the other was laughing at him. Frowning deeply, Ludwig huffed, cheeks dusted with pink in embarrassment, before he ducked under his sheets once more. He focused very hard, this time, on the task at hand. Within an hour, he had managed to drift into a dreamless sleep.

The next day he had awoken, the happenings of that night seemingly appearing like a foggy dream. Ludwig was certain it had all been dreamt – the pain killers may have made him a little delirious. Or he had been on the verge of sleep enough to generate a meaningless dream. Either way, Ludwig had convinced himself through his morning routine that it hadn’t happened, if only to save him from his internal embarrassment.

What furthered his wish for the night’s event to have been simply fiction of the mind was when he exited his apartment. As he closed the door, keys in hand once locked, he turned on his heel to be met with that very sneezing neighbour. Ludwig was mortified to see Alfred, clad in his usual bomber jacket and blue wary jeans, his back to Ludwig and seemingly unaware of his presence. Had his anxiety not shot through the roof, Ludwig would have walked straight past him with confidence in his step. However, he could not do that, for he was stood, gawking at the American with an agape mouth. Alfred had dropped his keys, cursing before bending down to take a hold of them. At this very moment, Ludwig got a very nice view of his rear. Had he no shame, he may have gawked longer, but the blush taking over his face and spreading to his ears told another story. With that, he looked away, tugging on the collar of his shirt as the temperature of the room apparently decided to raise tenfold. But Ludwig found himself sneaking another peak before Alfred was straightening up his body.

“Hey! Good to see you buddy!” he chirped, turning around, and jingling his keys in his left hand.

Ludwig snapped his gaze up, spluttering out incoherent ramblings before he finally settled on, “hallo.” Alfred held a subtle smirk on his lips, eyes lighting up in amusement at the other – he wouldn’t make the situation any worse for Ludwig, otherwise he’d admit just how adorable he looked.

“Say, did you bless me last night?” Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow. Ludwig only seemed to grow redder, ducking his head down in embarrassment. Interactions like these had been commonplace between the two, often sharing quick greetings, before Ludwig hurried off to his work – it had never been quite this awkward for the German.

“Yes. I did.” He replied, stiffly, only to gain a chuckle from the other. There was no doubt, Ludwig could never look Alfred in the eye again. The months of them talking to each other and being neighbours would have to end, if only to save Ludwig from his crippling embarrassment.

“Thanks, I forgot just how thin those walls could be- say, how about you bless me with your presence later on?” he wore a grin on his face, a hopeful look in his eye.

Ludwig blinked, pausing in his thoughts, as the tail end of Alfred’s sentence echoed about his head. 

Did he just…?

Ludwig swallowed, mouth drying as he managed to let out a confused, “what?”

“Like a date, you know?” Alfred clarified, shrugging nonchalantly towards the other.  
If one watched closely enough, they might have seen the cogs turning in Ludwig’s head, working to process the question that had been asked of him.  
It was a matter of seconds before Ludwig was overcome with a pink hue, the colour spreading across his cheeks and spanning down his neck. He chewed the inside of his lip, to save him the indignity of word-vomiting out of sheer shock. Of course, the past few months, Ludwig had been in awe of the other whilst making awkward small-talk outside their flats. He had been instantly flustering every time the American made an appearance and Ludwig had damned himself a million times over for not being able to get out a word to the other. 

It seems, even now, Ludwig would be damning himself a trillion times over, as he still stood staring at the other whilst his mouth opened and closed breathlessly, not a word in sight. 

“Uhh…” goodness gracious, the boy could barely breathe - Alfred grew worried, only marginally, thus taking a step forward. He reached out to clutch the other’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze before chuckling, “you still with me?” 

“Um…yes,” Ludwig stammered, hands fumbling about with the hem of his jacket. Alfred gave a toothy grin, “good, I’m glad… you know, you don’t have to give me an answer now- about the date-“ 

“Yes.” the German once again stammered, yet with more force, as though he was determined to get it out before the word crawled back down his throat into hiding. Alfred’s smile grew wider, if it could, and his eyes glinted with a sense of gladness - he’d be lying if he said he couldn’t believe he got a date with his next door neighbour, cause Alfred had been planning this for a while. 

“Well, can I ask for your number? just so we can sort something out.” Alfred stated, reaching into his back pocket of his jeans for his phone. Ludwig merely nodded, somewhat enamoured and shell-shocked by the situation. In turn, and when Alfred was ready, Ludwig recited his number by heart. 

“Awesome,” Alfred chimed, before giving a small salute, “I’ll be seeing you, then, Lud.” With that, he was off, moving down the hall and out of the building. Ludwig remained stood, blinking, staring at the place Alfred had been stood at. 

Seconds passed, then Ludwig was feeling a small smile creeping up on him. Maybe blessing Alfred that night wasn’t such a bad idea? After all, it lead to a pretty sweet deal; a date.


End file.
